You receive an "Unable to open <URL>" error message when you try to access the Office Online Web site in an Office 2003 program (907347)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Students and Teachers Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003
  • Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
  • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
  • Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry

SYMPTOMS

When you try to use the Help menu or the task pane to access the Microsoft Office Online Web site in a Microsoft Office 2003 program, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:
Unable to open http://r.office.microsoft.com/r/hlidofficehomefromclient?ctt=6&origin=ec010229861033. Cannot locate the Internet server or proxy server.

CAUSE

This issue occurs if the OfficeOnTheWeb registry value contains an incorrect value.

RESOLUTION

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\Internet

  3. In the right pane, verify that the OfficeOnTheWeb registry value is present.
  4. If the OfficeOnTheWeb registry value is present, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click OfficeOnTheWeb, and then click Modify.
    2. Verify that the Value data box contains the following value:

      http://office.microsoft.com

    3. If the Value data box contains a different value, type http://office.microsoft.com in the Value data box. Then, click OK.
    4. Quit Registry Editor.
  5. If the OfficeOnTheWeb registry value is not present, follow these steps:
    1. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
    2. Type OfficeOnTheWeb, and then press ENTER.
    3. Right-click OfficeOnTheWeb, and then click Modify.
    4. Type http://office.microsoft.com in the Value data box, and then click OK.
    5. Quit Registry Editor.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/6/2005
Keywords:kbtshoot KB907347 kbAudEndUser
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.